Popular Entertainment - Overview
This Museum's popular entertainment collections hold some of the Smithsonian's most beloved artifacts. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz reside here, along with the Muppet character Kermit the Frog, and props from popular television series such as M*A*S*H and All in the Family. But as in many of the Museum's collections, the best-known objects are a small part of the story.
The collection also encompasses many other artifacts of 19th- and 20th-century commercial theater, film, radio, and TV—some 50,000 sound recordings dating back to 1903; posters, publicity stills, and programs from films and performances; puppets; numerous items from World's Fairs from 1851 to 1992; and audiovisual materials on Groucho Marx, to name only a few.
"Popular Entertainment - Overview" showing 5 items.
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This metal lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1954, and it came with an aluminum thermos. This Roy Rogers and Dale Evans lunch box features an image on front lid of Dale in a red dress, greeting Roy on his horse Trigger at gate of the "DOUBLE R BAR RANCH". The back has a wood grain print with "RR" brand and name for box owner on the back, 2 vent slots. This was one Thermos’s first entries into the market of licensed lunch boxes, as a response to Aladdin’s Hopalong Cassidy box.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- American Thermos Bottle Company
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.07.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.07.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This Roy Rogers thermos was manufactured by Thermos in 1954. It features an image similar to the previous lunch box, object number 2001.3099.07.01. Roy Rogers is posing with a kneeling Dale Evans, his horse Trigger, and his dog Bullet, under the sign for Roy Rogers and Dale Evans DOUBLE R BAR RANCH.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1953
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- ID Number
- 2001.3099.07.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3099
- catalog number
- 2001.3099.07.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This tin lunch box was made by Thermos in 1954. It has a metal snap for a hinged lid and a collapsible red, plastic handle. The front of the box shows Roy Rogers and Dales Evans with their dog Bullet. The back of the box is an action shot of Roy Rogers roping a steer on his horse Trigger, with Dale Evans riding in the background. The Roy Rogers Show ran from 1951-1957, and focused on the cowboy adventures of Roy Rogers on his Double R Bar Ranch.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.14.01
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.14.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers Thermos
- Description (Brief)
- This metal, plastic and glass thermos bottle was made by Thermos in 1954, and is the companion bottle to lunch box object number 2001.3100.14.01.The bottle has a red, screw-on plastic lid and a red plastic stopper. The bottle has a yellow design with colorful action drawings of Roy Rogers riding on a horse on the sides of the thermos.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1954
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- Thermos
- ID Number
- 2001.3100.14.02
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3100
- catalog number
- 2001.3100.14.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Roy Rogers Lunch Box
- Description (Brief)
- This steel lunch box was manufactured by Thermos in 1955. The lunch box features images of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who starred in The Roy Rogers Show from 1951-1957. Roy Rogers was Thermos’s first entry into the arena of officially licensed lunch box merchandise, and early Roy Rogers boxes sold over 2 million units.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1955
- depicted
- Rogers, Roy
- Evans, Dale
- maker
- American Thermos Bottle Company
- ID Number
- 2001.3087.03
- nonaccession number
- 2001.3087
- catalog number
- 2001.3087.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center